Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“I don’t blame you. This shit is fucked up.”
“It is. I mean, we’re young, aren’t we? Too young to deal with this.”
“Exactly.” I flex my fingers at my sides, wanting to check they’re still working, too. When the doctor talked to me about the risk of cerebral damage from lack of oxygen, I freaked out. But so far, the tests all look good. And despite feeling like I got trampled by a herd of buffalo, my mind seems to be my own. “Where’s your sister?”
“I had to fight her to leave. She’s got a big assignment to do, and she needs sleep.”
I draw my bottom lip between my teeth and Travis’s blue eyes, that are a match to his sister’s, scan my face.
“She told me, Kain.”
“Told you what?”
“What y’all have been doing.”
I lower my lids as the heat of shame colors my cheeks. “I…” What the hell do I say? I’m sorry for banging your sister? I’m sorry for betraying you? Sorry doesn’t cut it in this situation. Getting on my knees at Travis’s feet and begging for forgiveness wouldn’t cut it.
“How do you feel about her?” Travis asks.
“I love her,” I blurt before I have a chance to think through the impact of such a statement. But even with those three monumental words hanging between us, I don’t regret saying them for a minute. “I think I’ve always loved her.”
Travis nods his head once, cataloging an important response and evaluating it to see if it measures up. That he hasn’t punched my lights out is a miracle.
“And Blake and Dalton?”
I blow out a breath through pursed lips, the magnitude of his questions hitting me hard in the chest. Can I speak for my brothers about such an important question? Should I?
“They love her too, Travis. I’m sorry we didn’t come to you before. We should have had the guts to tell you how we felt and ask for your opinion. We were cowards.”
He nods, and then his face splits into a grin. “You think I didn’t know how you felt? You think I’m blind, Kain? I was there all those days we spent together. I used to see you, Blake, and Dalton looking at Gabriella like she was Aphrodite, rising from the waves. I used to see her sideways glances at you all, blushing whenever you came around. All that tension…” He shakes his head and whistles. “Why do you think I told Blake about her diary? I wanted you to know she liked you. I wanted my sister to have a chance to be loved by someone I thought would be worthy of her.”
“Are you serious?” I blink back tears, finding that my time in a hospital bed has made me an emotional wreck.
“I’ll admit, I thought she’d pick one of you rather than all three. Though I should have realized there might be a chance she’d end up with all of you when Ellie hooked up with her stepbrothers.”
“All this time, we’ve been feeling guilty as hell for keeping everything secret.”
He rests his hand on my arm, squeezing. “Kain, you guys are like my brothers. You’ll always be my brothers from another mother. I trust you with my sister, and I know you’ll love her the way she deserves.”
“We will,” I say. “There’s just one problem.”
“What’s that?” Travis asks.
“I’m not sure if she feels the same way.”
28
GABRIELLA
Kain’s been awake for two weeks and has been recovering well. During that time, his father has barely left his side during the day, and when I’ve tried to visit at night for some alone time, there’s always been someone from the team or his extended family visiting, too.
It’s been impossible.
My heart is bruised and there are so many things unsaid between us that he almost feels like a stranger.
Travis isn’t angry with me. He isn’t angry with Mom either. It’s like he went to Germany one man and returned another. Even though I’ve asked him about his adventure, he hasn’t told me anything personal, just rambled on about the building he works in and his colleagues, and the differences between Germans and Americans.
I want to know what made him the way he is now. I can’t work out whether he’s stuffing down his anger because of what happened with Kain or if he genuinely has returned as a philosophical, chilled, mature man. Half of me is worried that he’s going to explode once Kain is home, and the other half is petrified that he won’t question this relationship...and then what?
I have to admit my feelings.
Or I risk Dalton, Blake, and Kain walking away because it was always only supposed to be temporary.
Neither option is what I want.
I’ve been avoiding spending any time alone with Mom, and the distance that has formed between us feels weird and sad. I’m adrift with no anchor. It’s as though there is a wall between me and everyone I used to be connected to.